Boat.



A. NIEDRINGHAUS.

BOAT. LAPPLIGATION FILED JUN'B 8 1908.

Patentedspf. 7, 1909.

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.ALEXNDER NIEDRILNGHAUS, .0F ST. IIGUIS, MISSOURI.

BOAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. '7, 1909.

Application led June 1908. Serial No. 437,336.

To all .whom it may concern'.-

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER NIEDRING- rines, a citizen of the United States, residlng at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in v Eoats, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the saine, reference being hadt'o the accompanying drawings, forinin' part of this specification, in Whichiigure' l isa side elevational view partly in vertical section 4of a boat constructed in accordance with my invention;` and Fig. 2 is a top plan -view of a raft made up of a number of my improved boats.

rfhis invention relates to a new and useful "goat Vfor transporting :goods and merchan The main obj-ect of my invention is to provide means for reducing the cost of andling and transporting goods and mer` vchandiss 'by water.

Another object of my invention is to provide a )boat that i's particularly adapted for transportiiig goods and merchandise on rivers or flnodies of water .that are comparatively shallow and which. are `filled with sandbars. And still another "object of 'my invention is to provide'a boat that can be loaded on land, then ,placed in the water and towed to its destination,.and .thereafter liftedout 'of the water and turned into a certain position so 'that its contents will be discharged, thereby'eliminating the operation of carrying the cargo from the shore to the boat end from .the boat to 'the shore and consequently reducing .thecost of handling and transporting freight by water.

@ther objects and ydesirable features of my invention will'be hereinafter' pointed out.' o

To accomplish the .objects above referred to l have devised a boat which consists of a closed tubular-shaped shell creasing conastructed in such a manner vthat goods or merchandise can be `placed inside of same 4and being ofsuch dimensions that it can be loaded on the land, then placed in the water, ,and lifted out of the .Water and turned into a certain position 'to discharge its cargo. A

' device, is located adjacent one end of the shell to which a tow-line or cable can be fconnected, and said device anda similar de- .vice .at the other end ofthe shell, ,can be utilized tojattach the shell to an apparatus Lthat lowers the shell into the Water and lifts it out of the water.

As previously stated, my improved boat is .adapted to be towed instead of propelled by means carried by the boat, and as the `boat is comparatively small l prefer to strrange 'a ynumber of the boats together -to form a raft and then attach the raft to a boat provided with propelling mechanism.

`In the preferred form of my invention as herein shown, the shellor casing in which ythe 'cargo is placed is arranged inside of one or more fair-tight compartments that impart buoyancy *to the shell 4and also protect the shell from snags or objects that are Heating in the Water-.r

Referring -to the drawings which illustrat-e the preferred form of my invention, l designates a closed tubular shell, preferably xof cylindrical-shape in cross section, and

provided with conical-shaped ends 2 and The forward or bow -end 2 of `the shell :has an eye 4t -or other suitable device connected thereto to which a cable or rope can be at- I ached, and the rear 'or stern end 8 of the shell is also provided with an eye 5 to which rope or cable can Ibe connected so asto enafbfle the shell to be hooked onto a liftingapparatus that lowers it into the water or lifts it out of the water. ln the construe covcr'G that clos-Es anopeningy through which the cargo is placed m the shell and discharged therefrom, and this cover G 1s preferably so lconstructed that a Water-tight 'tion herein shownl theieye 5 is connected to a joint is formed between the cover andthe shell, said cover consisting of a screwthreaded plug that is screwed into a sleeve 7 on the stern end 3 of the shell. A flange (3 on the plug l clamps a gasket 8 against an outwardly projecting 'flange T on the sleeve 7, and the inner end of said plug clamps a gasket 9 or piece of packing against an inw-ard] y projecting flange .7 on the sleeve 7, as show-vn in Fig. l. 'lhe parn ticular type of cover that is used' is immaterial so far as my broad idea is concerned and l do not wish it to be understood that my invention is limited to the ,construction herein shown. lf desired, the shell `can be provided -on its upper side with an auxiliary Iopening 'that is closed by a'cover l0 of similar colista-notion Ito the cover '6, said cover 10 bei-ng screwed'into a sleeve -11 that surrounds said anxiliary opening. v

lAfter the shell has been filled with the (ill goods that are to be transported, the cover, or covers, are screwed into place and the shell is then lowered into the water. il, number ot the boats can be arranged abreast of one another, as shown in full lines in F ig. 2, so as to form a raft, each boat heing connected by a short cable or rope l2 to a ton'- lin'e 13 that is attached to a boat provided with propelling mechanism. lnstead of arranging the boats abreast of one another, as above described, they can be arranged in tandem, as shown in dotted lines in Eig. Q, or in tact, in any other formation, and it desired, the boats can be lashed together by ropes or cables that are connected to the eyes el and 5 at the opposite ends or the shells.

ll'vhen the boats arrive at their destination they are littcd ont of the Water and then arranged in a vertical position so that the eaf'y; which each shell contains will pass out of the opening that the cover 6 closes.

From the foregoing it will he seen that I have devised a boat that can be built at a lonv cost and which eliminates carrying the cargo from the shore to the boat and from the boat to the shore, thereby reducing greatly the cost of trar"A Water. Any goods or merchsnf c. or small enough dimensions to pass through the openings that the covers G and l0 close can be transported in a boat or" this construction, but the boat is particularly adapted for carrying grain, coal, ore, etc. that can he shovelcd into the shell and which will discharge quickly when the shell is arranged in an upright position. As the heat draws very little-Water it can he used advantageously on rivers or bodies of Water that are shallow and filled with sand-bars, such, 'tor example as the Missouri River, and other streams that have no well-delined channel, and it the boats are connected together :is a raft, and the raft should strike a sand-bar it can be broken up easil and the se freed by merely rolling them over and or pulling them oil into deeper To impart buoyancy to the shell enable the boat to carry heavy loads 'fer lo arrange the shell inside ot'oi c or n air-light compartments, said air partments also acting to yjnotcct and prevent it trom becoming 7crushed punctured by 'snags or objects tloat-in(J the Water.

"'n the preferred form of my inve herein siovcn the shel l surrounded by a number of Water-tight hollow ring-sha} )cd members 14, and if said members are snrrounded by a number oit vt tor-tnhthollow rix1g-sli:n ied members l5 that a relatively to the ring liaped nienib as lo prodnce a stron,` and rigid structure.

J 'l he ring-shaped air conipartmcnts that sur porting freight hy.

ees-,sei

round the conical-shaped ends or" the.shell contorni to the shap" of said ends' so;.that

the boat resembles a long cylinder nwided" Vvwith approximately conical-shaplaugiends. 'l`he hollow ring-shaped members which ,surround the shell are confined in pos'mn by the tlange T on the sleeve 7 at the stern end ot thc shell, and a plate 1G at the bow end of' the shell which carries the eye l to which the tow-line l2 is connected, said plate bcing connected to the shell by a fastening device l?. f

The auxiliary cover l0 lies approximately tlnsh with the exterior of thc boat and ifdesired, said cover can be provided with il. socket l0a for receiving a tool to unscrcw said cover from the sleeve ll. I also prefer to provide the boat with a keel 1S that is of sniiicient weight to prevent the boat from rolling so as to lreep the auxiliary cover 10 ont ol' the water. The shell l and the air compartments inside of which said shell-is arranged can be made of any suitable .material but l prefer to form them` of sheet mtal on account of the low cost of manufacture and the strength which such materialpossesses. l

Having thus described my invention, what l clainias new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A boat tor the purpose described, comprising a shell adapted to be filled on land, then placed in the Water and towed to its destination, and thereafter lifted out of lthe water and turned out of its normal position to discharge its lading, a cover closing an opening in one end of said shell, and devices connected to said cover and to the opposite end of the shell 'to which tow lines or lifting cables can be attached.

2. A boat for the purpose described, comprising a closed shell that is adapted to be lilled on land, then placed in the Water and towed to its destination, and thereafter lifted out of the Water and turned in an appioltiinatelv upright position to discharge i i sani shell being provided at one :vini an opening that is closed by a cover, an air-tight compartment surrounding shell; substantially as described.

l the purpose described conl at is adapted to be id, then placed in the rater and iation, and thereafter lifted Y and turned in an approximatel uprignt position to discharge its c: rgo, said shell being pri` ided at one end with an opening l acin-sed hy a cover, and a plurality of hollow members surrounding said shell to 'form air comparh ments; substantially as described.

t, coat 'for the purpose described, coinclosed shell that is adapted to be the ivater and :n nerealler lifted n Alll.

tov-'cd to its destination, an(` lll() with an lopening that s'closed bya cover, a'

number of -approxlmately low members surrounding "sai she low members surrounding the members first -referred to and arranged staggered `re1atively thereto; substantiallyasdescribed.

5. A boat for the purposey described,-c,om

prising a tubular-shaped shell having. ta'

destination, and thereafter lifted out ofthe water and turned out of its normal position to discharge .its cardo., a cover closing an opening in one end o said shell, and deviees connected to said cover and to the opposite end of the shell to which tow lines or lifting cables can be attached; substantially as described. f

6. A boat for the purpose described, comprising a cylindrical-shaped shell provided with approximately conical-shaped` ends, and a cover that can -be opened to place a cargo inside of the shell,

rm -shalped hol# anda, number .of approximately ring-shaped hol-1 adapted to be filled on land, then placed in thewaterand towed to its destination, and 'thereafter lifted out of -thefw'ater and turned anupright position to discharge its cargo;

substiantiaas described. v

ffl.`.boagt.forthe purpose described, contA ,.prising "closed -Yeylindrial-shaped shell adaptediktohold a'cargmand a plurality of hollow-ring-shaped members surrounding saidshell; substantially as described.

' .8" Ajboat' for the purpose described, `oomprsing a cylindrical-shaped shell provided withapproxiinately conical-shaped ends, a number of hollow ring-shaped members surrounding said shell, and a number of hollow Vring-shaped Vmembers surrounding the ringshaped members first referred to and arranged staggered relatively thereto; sub

stantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto signature in the presence this fifth day of June 1908.

ALEXANDER NIEDRIVNGHAUS.

atlix my lVitnesses F. R. CORNWALL,

said shell being GEORGE BAKWELL.

of two witnesses, 

